Hilton has partnered with social enterprise South Pole to offset the carbon footprint of meetings and events at some 60 hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at no additional cost to the guest

Initially launched in the Netherlands last month, the offer has been extended to other hotels in the region, with plans to expand in the coming months.

The initiative will complement existing efforts to offer low environmental impact solutions that limit waste and emphasize local sourcing, in support of Hilton Travel with Purpose 2030 goals to halve its environmental footprint and double its social impact by 2030. 

Hilton will use its LightStay system, which assesses each meeting's energy, water, carbon and waste consumption and allows clients to get an estimate of their event's carbon footprint. 

The group recently launched Hilton EventReady Hybrid Solutions, which will allow companies to host seamless hybrid meetings at multiple locations if they choose.

The footprint of all business meetings with 10 or more delegates at participating hotels will be offset with carbon credits. These will be allocated to a series of projects that support Hilton Travel with Purpose 2030 goals, including repairing and maintaining boreholes in Rwanda to improve access to clean water sources, building a geothermal power plant in Turkey to generate clean, emission-free energy, and developing and maintaining wind farms in India and the United States. 

Offering carbon-neutral meetings at no additional cost is a fantastic complement to existing efforts to limit the environmental impact of our business and achieve our collective ambitions. We look forward to exploring opportunities to expand this program in the coming months.

Tanya Clifford, vice president of Hilton Worldwide Sales EMEA

Everyone has a role to play in helping to curb climate change - first and foremost by reducing carbon emissions, water consumption, waste and energy production as much as possible. We are delighted to partner with Hilton and its customers to boost their efforts to combat the climate crisis.

Michael Malara, senior director of business development for South Pole